Background Screening | 5 Ways to Modernize Your Job Search Pt. 1

If you’re still following job-search advice from a decade or more ago, chances are good that you’re inadvertently sabotaging your own chances of getting hired. And if you think you’re too young to fall into that trap, think again: It’s not just workers with decades of experience who fall for this – even 20 somethings fall victim, because they’re relying on outdated job-advice guides, parents who don’t realize that hiring conventions have changed, or even college career centers that haven’t updated their knowledge for the way things work today.

Here are five ways to modernize your job search to compete in 2014.

1. Remove the objective from your résumé. Yes, you may have learned years ago that every résumé should start with an objective, but that advice has long been outdated. Objectives now make your résumé look out-of-touch with modern conventions. What’s more, objectives are about what you want, rather than about what the employer wants – and at the initial stage of the hiring process, employers are much more concerned with what skills and experience you can offer than with your hopes and dreams. Plus, most objectives sound stilted and generic anyway. It’s been a long time since one did a job candidate any favors.

After you remove the objective, replace it with a profile section – a few sentences or bullet points that highlight who you are as a candidate and what sets you apart. Done well, these can serve as overall framing for your candidacy, explaining to employers the key facts you want them to know about you. In fact, profile sections have gained so much popularity that résumés without them are starting to look a little bare.

2. Don’t list jobs from two decades ago. Jobs you held that long ago are unlikely tostrengthen your candidacy today, and they can date you and your experience. If you’ve had an impressive career over the last 15 years, why waste space talking about more junior roles you held well before that? Remember: A résumé is a marketing document, not a comprehensive listing of everything you’ve ever done. -US News